


The Merman and the Maiden

by LittensTinyMittens (Onasariel)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Merman Balinor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 12:10:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15930167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onasariel/pseuds/LittensTinyMittens
Summary: Hunith Faber is Uther Pendragon's Personal Assistant. She hates her job, but the pay is decent, at least until she can find another one. Due to their office being under repairs, he is working from his massive mansion, and she is joining him.She never expected to find amermanin his huge aquarium.





	The Merman and the Maiden

**Author's Note:**

> So after writing my After Camlann Big Bang story(coming next month!), I needed to relax and write something fun, and this happened. Kind of inspired by a tumblr rp prompt that I saw a few years ago, back when I rped. It was about x character finding y(who was a mermaid/merman) for sale on the black market, and what do they do. I took that as Uther found out about Balinor(who is a magical merman Prince, because this story is also self-indulgent fun) and bought him. To make this endgame OTP, I had to turn it into Modern AU, but Hunith/Balinor will be happening eventually. 
> 
> So..yeah. Enjoy this fun thing I wrote!

Hunith Faber stared up at the imposing gates of Pendragon Manor nervously. This was going to be her workplace for the next two months while Uther Pendragon’s office was under construction. 

She had been Mr. Pendragon’s personal assistant for two years now, and she absolutely hated it. He was arrogant, cruel, and looked down on all his employees, especially her. He treated her more like a servant or a slave than an assistant. Still...the pay was good and she couldn’t afford to be unemployed. She would have to find a new job before she could quit. 

She took a deep breath, ringing the buzzer. 

“Hello?” a gruff voice said.

“Um, yes...I am Hunith Faber, Mr. Pendragon’s PA. I was told that Mr. Pendragon would be working from home for the next two months while the office is under renovations, and that I would be joining him,” she said. 

There was a moment of silence. She jumped as the gates began to open with a loud creak. 

“You are authorized. George will meet you at the front door,” the voice said.

“T...Thank you!” Hunith said, quickly making her way through the gates and up the long walkway to the manor’s front door. It opened to reveal a slim man with brown hair and narrowed eyes.

“Hello. I am George, the head servant of Pendragon manor. Mr. Pendragon is expecting you. Follow me,” George said. 

Hunith followed the man quietly. She had a strong feeling that he was not someone who liked small talk. She chose to focus on her surroundings. They would help her get around in the coming days. 

She paused when George began to walk into the basement. It didn’t seem right that Mr. Pendragon’s office would be there. George noticed her hesitation and rolled his eyes.

“Mr. Pendragon’s office is in the basement. It faces his prized aquarium,” George said.

Hunith had heard all about the aquarium; Mr. Pendragon often bragged about how it contained rare and exotic fish from around the world. More recently, he had an outlandish claim that a merman was his newest prize. No one believed it, but she was interested in seeing the aquarium anyways.

She followed George. He led her down a long hall, stopping and knocking on a door.

“Come in.” 

George opened it and entered, stepping to the side so Hunith could join them. She gingerly stepped into the room, looking around. The room wasn’t much bigger than Mr. Pendragon’s regular office, but the ceiling was higher and one wall was taken up by glass, giving anyone inside a good view into the aquarium. It gave the room an eerie blue glow.

“Miss Faber has arrived, Sir,” George said. Hunith snapped to attention, turning to her boss. He was standing by the glass and she gasped when she spotted what he was watching.

Laying on a large rock in the tank was a merman.

At least, she thought it was a merman. It had to be, he looked exactly like the pictures. His torso was that of a man, his long black hair was flowing with the current. His head was in his arms, but she could see a bit of his face. His large ears were slightly longer and rounded with blue-orange tips. It looked as if he had a beard, though she couldn’t tell the colour of his eyes from so far away. His lower half was a blue fish tail with orange stripes and swirls. The orange had black outlines. His tail’s main fin was mostly orange, with a blue tip and black lines leading up to it. A blue, orange, and black dorsal fin ran up his back, while the two larger fins that ran around where his human half met his fish half were orange, with blue blobs with black outlines over them, complete with blue tips. As Hunith got closer, she could see a second, thinner, blue fin running over it, and that the merman’s eyes were closed. 

He was even more amazing up close. To her surprise, he had small gills on his neck, and webs at the bottom of his long fingers. She could see all the details in his tail, and how human body met fish body. It was amazing.

She didn’t realize she had gotten so close to the tank until she heard Mr. Pendragon’s voice right beside her.

“He is exquisite, isn’t he? I paid a hefty sum to have him. Iit is definitely something I can brag about.”

Hunith jumped, looking between Mr. Pendragon and the merman. Mr. Pendragon chuckled.

“Don’t worry. I understand your awe. You may look at him,” he said.

“T..thank you, Sir. Might I ask...what is his name?” she said. Mr. Pendragon laughed. 

“A name? You name dogs and horses, Hunith, not fish. He might look human in some ways, but he’s as dumb as the rest of the beasts. He has no use but to be another beautiful piece in my collection. Here, I’ll even wake him up for you, and you can see what I mean,” he said.

Before Hunith had a chance to politely object, Mr. Pendragon began to bang on the glass. The merman’s eyes flew open and his fins puffed out as he swam away from his rock in a panic. His brown eyes darted around the tank before landing on Mr. Pendragon and Hunith. They narrowed, and he let out an inhuman hiss, his open mouth revealing a row of sharp teeth. 

Mr. Pendragon found this delightful and amusing, clapping and laughing at the show. Hunith jumped back, her eyes wide with surprise and fear. She couldn’t blame the poor creature for his hostility, but she never expected him to make such a terrifying sound. 

“Oh, it is entertaining to rile him up like this. Such an easily angered creature,” Uther said, banging on the glass again.

This time the merman let out a whine, covering his ears and tightly shutting his eyes. Hunith’s heart ached for him. The tank was huge, but Mr. Pendragon was putting a lot of strength into banging on the glass. It was probably very loud in there.

“Mr. Pendragon, perhaps it would be best to leave him be for a bit,” she said without thinking. Mr. Pendragon stopped and narrowed his eyes.

“Who are you to give me orders, Miss Faber?” he said.

“I’m sorry, Sir. I misspoke,” Hunith quickly replied, looking down.

“If you care so much for this thing, then you can be the one to feed him. It is feeding day,” Mr. Pendragon said. Hunith held back a flinch. She hoped that he didn’t intend to feed her to the merman.

“Of course, Mr. Pendragon, whatever you say,” she said.

“George will show you where it’s food is. Return to me when you’re done,” Mr. Pendragon said, turning back to the tank.

The merman still had his hands over his ears, watching the humans warily. Hunith could have sworn she saw him shaking, but it might have just been her imagination or the movement of the currents in the tank. 

“I will show you where the maintenance room is,” George said. 

Hunith stayed silent as George led her back upstairs and to a room that was helpfully labeled ‘maintenance room’. George opened the door and stepped aside for Hunith. 

“You will find the fish for the creature in the freezer. There is a heavy wetsuit for you to wear...do put it on. We don’t need the manor smelling like fish. You’ll find the switch to open the hatch on the wall,” George explained, gesturing to the hatch in question. 

“Thank you,” Hunith said.

She saw George smirk as she entered the room. Was he keeping something from her? She took a deep breath. He was most likely smirking because she got the ‘dirty’ job. Yes, that had to be it.

Hunith turned to ask, but he didn’t have a chance. George slammed the door behind her. Hunith took another deep breath and went to work. 

“This shouldn’t be so hard...right?” she mumbled, putting on the baggy wetsuit. She just had to dump the fish into the water. Wait -- how many fish could a merman eat at one time? She put a few of the frozen fish into a bucket just to be sure, not that she could figure out how the merman was going to eat these. Sure he had sharp teeth, but these were frozen solid.

Leaving the bucket by the hatch, she moved to the button on the wall. She pressed it and cringed at the loud creek that the hatch made as it started to open up.

This was completely inhumane, but what could she do? The police wouldn’t believe that Uther Pendragon had a merman in his tank. No one would come to rescue the poor thing.

She returned to the hatch, kneeling beside it as the door slowly opened. She looked away to prepare the fish, and nearly had a heart attack when she turned back to the now open hatch.

The merman was staring up at her.

Hunith let out a screech of terror, falling back and knocking over the bucket of fish. She hadn’t been expecting the merman to be right there, and she didn’t expect him to be...was that _laughing_?

She could hear something exiting the water, and it took every ounce of self control to not shriek again when she saw webbed hands plant themselves on the floor, only to be followed by arms as the merman pulled himself up.

Oh. So this was going to be how she was going to die...killed by an angry merman when he crawled out of her employer’s tank. Well, she lived a decent life at least…

Except the merman didn’t go any further. He merely watched her curiously, using the floor as support to keep his torso out of the water. Hunith stared back at him. His wet, black hair was now sticking to his body, some of it sitting on his face. His dorsal fin was slumped over, but the wet fin shimmered in the light. The merman put his elbow on the floor, resting his tilted head in his hand. 

It was actually rather charming.

“Um...h...hello,” Hunith said, feeling slightly more confident. She didn’t believe what Mr. Pendragon said about the merman being stupid, but she wasn’t sure if he knew english either. The merman blinked and gave her a toothy grin in response.

“Hello,” he said. “I’m sorry for scaring you and laughing, but it was very funny.”

Well, not only did he speak english, but he also had a very nice voice.

“Oh...it’s okay! I guess it was pretty funny,” Hunith said, forcing a chuckle. The merman smiled at her then turned to the fish, his eyes lighting up.

“There are five fish here…” he said. 

“Oh no, is it too much? I can put some back! George didn’t tell me how much you needed to eat,” she said. The merman’s expression darkened again as he grabbed a fish.

“He wouldn’t let you feed me enough in the first place,” the merman said, taking a big bite out of the fish.

Hunith watched him quietly, trying to not think of the terrible implications. The merman finished up with the first fish and reached for another. 

“My name is Balinor...Prince Balinor Ambrosius of Airgialla. What is yours?” he said.

“I’m Hunith,” Hunith replied. She quickly added, “Sire.” 

She went silent again as the Prince ate his fish. Not only was he a merman, he was a royal one too.

“Hunith is an unusual name...but I like it,” Balinor said when he was finished. 

“Thank you, Sire,” she said with a small smile. Balinor laughed. 

“I appreciate that you are a respectful human...but I am no Prince here. You can just call me Balinor,” he said, his tone saddening as he reached the end. 

“I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help you,” Hunith said softly. She really did. Maybe if she spoke to her brother, he could help her find a solution. Balinor really didn’t belong in a tank in the first place.

“You have given me more than one fish, that’s a start,” Balinor said as he started on his third. Hunith’s head snapped up and her eyes widened.

“One fish?” she said.

“One fish every other day,” Balinor grumbled. 

That wasn’t right. Balinor’s upper half was that of a well built man already, and that wasn’t including his large tail. He had to be about the length of a shark from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. Would Uther feed a shark one small fish a day? No, that was ridiculous!

Balinor reached out and took the remaining two fish.

“Thank you for the fish, Hunith. It was a pleasure to meet you. I hope you get a chance to come here again,” Balinor said, slinking back into the water before Hunith had a chance to say goodbye.

It was so sudden...had she done something to offend him? Maybe he was just upset due to the fact he was thinking about his current situation. That would make perfect sense. 

She sighed as she quickly cleaned up and closed the hatch. Hopefully she would be able to speak to Balinor again someday.

\---

Mr. Pendragon was not in a good mood when she arrived back at his office

“Where have you been?” he asked.

“I had a little bit of trouble getting used to the wetsuit, and I got lost on my way back, sir,” Hunith replied, playing the role of a stupid PA. She quickly glanced at the tank behind her boss, but it was filled with fish, and Balinor was nowhere to be seen.

“You’re an idiot,” Mr. Pendragon scoffed, falling for the charade. He pointed to a door on the left side of the room.

“That’s your office. Your work is on your desk. Get to it,” he said. 

“Yes sir,” Hunith said, rushing into her small office.

It was much smaller than Mr. Pendragon’s, but it had it’s charm. It had a door to the hall, a few plants, cabinets and her desk. Her favourite part though was the fact the back wall was the aquarium, just like Mr. Pendragon’s. She shut the door behind her and walked up to the glass, putting a hand on it.

Balinor was still nowhere to be seen, but the view was lovely, especially with all the fish swimming around. They hadn’t been around earlier, so she assumed they knew to steer clear of Balinor. She sighed and sat at her desk, turning her attention to the long list of tasks she needed to accomplish today.

Hopefully she could manage it without thinking about the mysterious merman.

\------------

Balinor casually swam around the huge tank, munching on the fish that Hunith had given him. The other fish in the tank fled as he drew near, sensing an incoming predator, but he didn’t mind. He wasn’t hunting right now.

Hunith was a strange human. Unlike the others, she had a calming aura about her. Perhaps it was merely because she was so upset at his plight. The only other human that had shown anything resembling shock had been his captor’s mate, but she hadn’t done anything to help him. 

His parents had warned him about the dangers of humans. His father would tell him terrible stories about them and how they were full of hate for their kind, and if they ever got ahold of him they would put him on display.

Father wasn’t entirely wrong. 

Balinor winced as he remembered how he had been captured. 

_It was stupid. He had investigated a ship that was sailing a bit too close to Airgialla. He thought that he was well hidden, but he must have been seen, since a few minutes into his adventure he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, and the world began to spin before it went black._

_When he woke up, he was on the ship in a tank that was way too small for him. He only had enough room to shuffle his limbs and tail so he could get slightly more comfortable._

_“Hello there, fishie. Welcome to your temporary home. You’re going to make us filthy rich when we find a buyer,” an ugly male said with a sinister grin on his face._

_Balinor growled and began to struggle. They couldn’t hold him here. He began to summon up his magic...but nothing._

_It was gone._

_The shock must have been evident on his face because the ugly human laughed._

_“You have a pretty little bracelet on that keeps you from using your magic. I learned that the hard way once. That fishie looked a lot like you too.”_

_Balinor’s eyes widened. Was this human speaking of his father? That would explain why he hated humans so much. The ugly human laughed and smacked the side of the tank, causing Balinor to cry out as the sound echoed through the water. He covered his ears and shut his eyes._

_The ugly human left him alone after that, thankfully. He and the other humans only entered the small room he was in so they could feed him._

_He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he remembered his new owner coming to see him, circling the tank with a malicious smirk. He said something to the ugly human, and money was exchanged. They left the room, but the ugly human returned with some kind of large needle._

_“Goodnight, fishie. You’re going to a new home,” he said. Balinor began to struggle, but there was nowhere to hide. The human stabbed him with the needle, and and his world went black._

_When he woke up, he was in this tank. He had tried to escape it, frantically swimming around in a panic, but to no avail. Even the area where he could see the sun was covered in glass, as he discovered when he crashed into it._

_Now he focused on trying to survive. He originally made a promise to himself to not eat any of the fish in the tank, since they were also captives of this mad man, but when he discovered that he wasn’t going to be fed properly hunger took over. He would return to his family one day...he just needed to bide his time._

He snapped out of his trance when he saw Hunith. She was standing at a strange tall box, digging through it. He smiled and came to a rest on a rock. There was something about Hunith that drew him to her. Maybe it really was simply the fact that all the other humans around here had nasty aura’s, while hers was so calming...but maybe it was something else. Perhaps destiny and magic were guiding him in some way.

He thought about their previous conversation and chuckled. She had been so flustered, and it was adorable. Yes, she was definitely the one human he approved of. He didn’t completely trust her yet, but he was more than willing to give her a chance.

Though, he had been terribly rude by leaving in such a huff, hadn’t he? He had been in such a bad mood because he was thinking of how he normally got fed so little, but that wasn’t Hunith’s fault. She had done the opposite.

He swam to the glass. He should at least say hello, and let her know that he wasn’t mad at her. Hunith was still digging through that strange box with multiple drawers, and she seemed frustrated. It wasn’t something that suited her at all. He tapped on the glass, thankful it wasn’t as loud when he was the one tapping.

Hunith jumped, and Balinor laughed. She was a skittish one, wasn’t she? It was another of her charming quirks. When she turned to the tank, he flashed a grin and waved. Hunith’s frown turned to a bright smile and she waved back. She moved to the longer side of the drawer that was facing away from the tank so she was facing him properly. 

Balinor watched as she went back to digging through the metal box. As she went along, she would occasionally glance up at the tank, smiling when she saw he was still there.

The box was interesting. It couldn’t be a desk, Balinor knew what those looked like. She even had a desk in the room...but it had drawers like a desk. It was almost like the humans had decided they needed multiple drawers stacked on top of each other to keep things in instead of chests. Yes, that’s what it had to be! Balinor smiled slightly, proud of himself for figuring out this human item on his own.

He settled down on the rock, sitting and watching her. He heard her faint cheer of victory when she found what she was looking for, frowning when she flinched at the side door. That probably led into his owner’s office, but he hadn’t heard what the man in question said.

He swam up to the glass and tapped again. Hunith didn’t jump this time, but she did smile at him. Satisfied at seeing her smile, he returned to his place on the rock, getting himself comfortable. He watched her work for a little while longer before letting himself doze off.

\---

When Balinor woke up, Hunith wasn’t in her office but there was a piece of paper taped to the glass. Balinor stretched, arching his back and curling the tip of his tail towards his body. He got up to see what the paper said.

 _’Mrs. Pendragon took me out for lunch. Be back soon.’_

The words were followed by a strange picture. Balinor tilted his head, trying to decipher it. It was two parallel lines with a curved one underneath. He frowned and furrowed his brow.

Was this some kind of threat? No...it couldn’t be. Hunith was a kind human. Besides, her words appeared to be friendly enough. He could ask her about it when she returned.

He swam over to his owner’s office out of curiosity. The miserable man was working and eating at his desk. Balinor’s stomach grumbled. He turned away from his owner and swam off to hunt. 

There was a parrotfish nearby. Balinor licked his lips, parrotfish were rather tasty, and they were larger than some of the other fish in the tank. 

He began to crawl across the bottom of the tank. He would have to approach it from below if he wanted this to work. His people would usually use nets, weapons, and magic to hunt fish, but he had to make do on stealth and speed alone.

Once he was close enough, he darted for the fish. It almost got away, but he managed to grab it just in time. 

After he ate, he swam back to Hunith’s office, hoping she would be back by now. To his joy, she was. The note had been removed and she was working at her desk.

Balinor grinned and tapped on the glass. Hunith looked over her shoulder and waved. Balinor waved back, then made a motion for her to come over. Hopefully they could talk though the glass.

“I saw your letter,” he said once she was close enough. Hunith’s eyes widened. She stepped closer to the glass before speaking.

“Oh, good. I didn’t want you to wake up and think that I left you,” she said. Balinor was overjoyed. Despite the fact that her voice was low, he could hear her. They could talk to each other through the glass! 

“What was that strange symbol, though?” he asked, tilting his head.

“What symbol?” 

Balinor opened his mouth to describe it, but chose to trace it on the glass instead. Hunith’s eyes lit up.

“Oh! That’s a smiley face. I guess I’m a bit silly. I didn’t think about if you would know it or not. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if you even knew how to read english or if you have your own language that you write in, but it was worth trying,” she said.

“What does a smiley face mean?” Balinor asked. 

“It’s just a simple drawing of someone smiling. It means you’re happy, or that you’re nice,” Hunith said.

Balinor contemplated this for a moment before lowering down to Hunith’s level. He smiled at her and traced the face again.

“You make me happy,” he said. “Thank you for talking to me. My people, we live in communities and this is very important to us. I have been so lonely without someone to talk to.”

Balinor pressed his hand and forehead against the glass and closed his eyes. He missed Airgialla so much. He missed his parents and their people. It was killing him being apart from them for so long.

He opened his eyes to see Hunith putting her hand on his. He stared at her hand. It was so small compared to his. So small and dainty...humans were fragile creatures, weren’t they? 

Well, he would do everything he could to protect this human, even if it wasn’t much. 

“You belong with them. You don’t belong in a tank like this,” Hunith said. “But for what it’s worth...I’m very happy to keep you company whenever I can.”

“That alone means the world to me.”

Balinor watched Hunith’s expression change from happiness, to sadness, to happiness again. Even if it was only for a moment, he felt guilty for being the cause of her sorrow.

“I’m glad. I need to finish a few things up, but maybe you can tell me about your family and your people while I work...if you want too, of course. I would be very interested in hearing about them,” Hunith said, standing up and retrieving something from her desk before sitting by the glass. Balinor looked between her and the door that led to his owner’s office.

“What about _him_? I don’t want you to get in trouble,” he said.

“Oh don’t worry. If Mr. Pendragon wants me, then he’ll use the phone. He dismissed George for the day so he could help Mrs. Pendragon with whatever she needed,” Hunith said. 

Satisfied with her answer, Balinor curled up on the bottom of the tank and got comfortable before starting.

“My father is the great King Aldred Ambrosius of Airgialla. His rule is a peaceful one. Our people are happy and safe. My mother is Queen Rowena Ambrosius. She is kind and gentle, but will fight for what is right if the situation calls for it. Father and the council respect her opinions. Both of them have given me so much guidance over the years; even if I didn’t listen to it,” he said, looking down. His father had warned him about humans and how dangerous they were. He didn’t listen, and now he was trapped in a tank. 

“I’m sorry, is it took hard to talk about? I can tell you about myself, if you want,” Hunith said. Balinor looked at her and smiled.

“Yes...I would like to hear about you,” he said.

“Well, I’m afraid I’m not that interesting. My parents were Michael and Lisa Faber. They were killed in a car crash when I was twelve, and I went to live with my older brother, Gaius. He is ten years older than me, and was in medical school at the time. He’s a doctor now. I’m not sure what I want to be yet…” Hunith said, trailing off at the end.

“You don’t want to work for my owner?” Balinor asked. Hunith shook her head.

“Oh, definitely not. I don’t mind this kind of job, but I don’t enjoy working for Mr. Pendragon,” she said, lowering her voice as she spoke.

“Good. If someone in Airgialla was treating their servants the way he treats you, they would be shamed, and their servants would be taken away! The servants would then be compensated for what their work and would receive assistance in finding a better and kinder employer,” Balinor said with a huff. 

Hunith stared at him and blinked. That was not something she expected him to say, but then again, Airgialla was clearly a very different place than England, and at least he was championing for the well-being of the lower classes. That was miles ahead of Mr. Pendragon, who treated anyone below him as if they were a stain on his shoe.

“I’m not really a servant...I’m a personal assistant. I don’t help him around the house, I help him with business matters. I answer the phones, organize paperwork, and fetch the coffee. Things like that.” she said. Balinor tilted his head.

“With all due respect, that sounds very similar to what a servant does,” he said. Hunith furrowed her eyebrows and frowned slightly. When he put it that way…

“Well, I guess you’re not wrong,” she said. “Do you have any servants?” she asked, changing the subject. Balinor’s expression brightened.

“Oh, yes! There are many servants working in the palace, but I swear to you that we treat them and pay them well. I even have my own personal servant. His name is Bran, and he is also a dear friend and council,” he said, getting a distant look in his eyes. “I hope that I can return one day, and he’ll still be there.” 

Hunith’s eyes were full of pity. Balinor was all alone here. No one deserved that, not even Mr. Pendragon. 

“I’m sure he will be waiting for you. He is your friend. He must be worried sick about where you are and if you’re all right, just like your parents,” Hunith insisted.

“I just wish I could see them again...I miss them so much,” Balinor said, curling up into a sad ball. 

He had to bide his time until he was free once more, but he also knew he was holding on to a very small shred of hope. There was a high chance he wouldn’t see his family and friends again. 

“Oh, Balinor, I’m so sorry. I want to do something...I just don’t know what I can do. I...I’ll find something. Please don’t give up hope,” Hunith said.

As much as Balinor enjoyed her company, he couldn’t bring himself to believe her. She had only met him this morning, and she had no reason to help him.

Still...at least he had her company. That was more than he had before.

The duo sat in silent for a few hours, Hunith only leaving Balinor’s side to answer the phone, or to fetch more work. Even if they weren’t talking, her company was still the greatest thing he could have asked for in this damn place. He was being ungrateful and rude towards the one person who had shown him nothing but kindness.

He finally move, turning so he could see her. Hunith was chewing on the top of her pen, deep in thought. 

“Hunith?” he said softly. As cute as she was when startled, he didn’t want to do that this time around. Hunith looked up, taking the pen out of her mouth and smiling.

“Hey there. Are you feeling a bit better?” she asked. Balinor nodded.

“I am, thank you. I’m sorry for acting like that. You have been nothing but kind to me and I have been rude in return,” he said, hanging his head.

“Oh, no, you haven’t done anything wrong! All of your reactions have been completely normal for someone in your situation. I don’t blame you at all, so please don’t worry about it,” Hunith insisted. Balinor nodded, but he was still unsure.

“Okay,” he said. 

Hunith sighed as she looked over at the phone. Balinor could barely hear the ringing. He watched as Hunith darted over to answer it, having a conversation with the person on the other end. She hung up after a minute and returned to the aquarium’s glass sadly.

“I have to go home now, but I promise that I’ll be here tomorrow, okay?” she said. Balinor whimpered, pressing his forehead against the glass. He knew that this time would most likely come, but it felt like it had come so soon.

“Be safe. I will see you tomorrow,” he said. 

“I’ll be fine, thank you. Goodnight, Balinor,” Hunith said with a small smile. Balinor smiled back. As sad as this moment was, she would be returning tomorrow at least.

“Goodnight, Hunith,” he said. 

He watched her leave, staying there for a few more minutes before swimming over to his owner’s office. As much as he despised the man, watching him was more entertaining than watching the fish swim by. Besides, maybe he would be lucky and would get to watch the man drop dead. 

His owner -Mr. Pendragon, Hunith called him- was sitting at his desk, still working. Balinor shook his head and turned away. This probably wouldn’t be as interesting as he had hoped, and he _was_ getting rather hungry. 

Before he had a chance to go anywhere, his owner said something that made his blood run cold.

“Hello, Prince Balinor.”

Balinor spun around, staring at Mr. Pendragon with wide eyes. The man was approaching the tank, smirking.

“Don’t be so surprised. You can’t expect me to believe your people don’t spy on their servants,” he said.

“We don’t, because we trust them and it is an invasion of their privacy,” Balinor said, flaring his fins out in an attempt to make himself as large as possible, since his current size didn’t seem to intimidate the man. Mr. Pendragon laughed.

“In some ways you are much more intelligent than I gave you credit for...in others, you really are as dumb as I first thought. Flare up your fins all you want, it doesn’t scare me,” he said. “It only makes you more beautiful.”

Balinor cringed and narrowed his eyes. Mr. Pendragon wasn’t fazed. He merely began to pace by the glass.

“What to do with the two of you...I can’t get rid of you, I paid too much money for my prize and you’re worth so much more now that I know you’re a Prince. Hunith may be an idiot, but she does work very hard and finding a new P.A would be time consuming,” Mr. Pendragon mused.

“Please, don’t hurt her. She only has the best intentions--” Balinor began.

“Are you smitten with her already?” Mr. Pendragon said with a laugh. “You know it would never work out, and we’ll be back at the main office in two months. You won’t see her again.”

Balinor flinched back at his words. He liked Hunith, but love? No, he didn’t love her. Still, Mr. Pendragon’s words hurt...because Balinor couldn’t help but feel that he might be right. Balinor belonged in the sea, and Hunith belonged on land. They would be seperated one day, and she would only be a memory.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. She would only be a memory, but it could still be a good one that he would hold close to his heart. He opened his eyes again and stared back at Mr. Pendragon with a glare.

“I am not in love, but I know Hunith is special. Even if we will be seperated one day, at least I will have been blessed to know her,” he said. “Please, don’t hurt her.”

“I won’t. In fact, I might even give her a bit of a promotion. If she is so interested in your well being, then she can be the one responsible for taking care of you. If you starve, then it’s on her, not me,” Mr. Pendragon said. “However, you will not tell her about the bugs in her office. That would be so cruel...snatching all the hope from her, wouldn’t it?”

Balinor was silent. Any hope he had was just snatched away, but at least he could spare Hunith that fate. She could have that hope for the remaining two months that she was here, and they could be happy.

He knew it was selfish, but he nodded.

“I understand,” he said. “I won’t tell her anything.”

“Excellent! Your silence has just bought you some new privileges benefitting your...royal status. I don’t want to be your enemy, but I will if I have to be. Don’t make me the bad guy, my friend,” Mr. Pendragon said.

Balinor hated the man. He would never be his friend, but for an actual friend’s sake...he would play along for now. 

“If you want to be my friend, then send your servant up to feed me. I cannot live in one fish every other day,” Balinor said. Mr. Pendragon laughed.

“Ah, you forgot our deal already! That’s Hunith’s job now, and she’s gone home for the evening. You have to wait until tomorrow!” he said, turning to leave the room. He paused, glancing back to shout one last thing at the Merman Prince. “Oh, and by the way, she doesn’t work on weekends.”

Before Balinor had a chance to say anything, Mr. Pendragon slammed the door. Balinor stared at it for a few more minutes before swimming off.

What had he gotten Hunith into?

\------------

Hunith sighed as she closed the door to her small flat. Today had been an exhausting, exciting, and almost surreal day. If she didn’t know any better, she could easily mistake it for some strange prank that Mr. Pendragon was playing.

But Mr. Pendragon wasn’t the type of man to play pranks, nor would he allow them to be played in his office or home. 

It could have been a man in a costume, but Hunith knew that couldn’t be true either. She had witnessed Balinor under the water for hours. He had no way to breathe other than the gills on his neck that she had seen moving with each breath. She had seen how his fins met his skin.

There was no other answer. Today she had met and befriended a real, live merman. 

She covered her mouth to muffle her scream as it all set in and fell to the ground, leaning against the door. 

She hadn’t even stopped to considered the situation, she just acted. It was like it was just another day at a new job, though a strange one. It didn’t even occur to her until now that she had gotten herself involved in something that was much bigger than her, and made promises she might not be able to keep. 

She sat at the door for what felt like hours, too shocked and too tired to move. It took every ounce of her willpower, but she finally found it in her to stand and made her way to the phone. If anyone could help her figure this out, it was Gaius. He had studied myths and the occult, as a hobby; surely he had come across merfolk in those studies.

The phone rang for a minute before it went to his voicemail. Hunith forced herself to leave a friendly message, telling him she wanted to talk and it would be lovely if he came over for diner that Saturday, and to please call her back to confirm.

Speaking of dinner, she was starving. She began her nightly routine, trying to make things as normal as possible. Tonight wasn’t a night for things that were out of the ordinary.

Despite that, her dreams were filled with an underwater Kingdom and a familiar Prince who was there to guide her through it.

\------------

Miles away, an ancient merman’s eyes flew open as he was jolted from his slumber by a strange vision.

There was a human female with a soft smile and a tender gaze, and his lost Prince. Prince Balinor appeared to be very fond of this female, but he was not safe nor entirely happy. A human male with cold, calculating eyes was always lurking in the dark, an ever-present danger. He was the one who kept the Prince in a cage, caring for nothing but the renown his prize would bring. 

The ancient merman sat up. He had to see the King and Queen at once.


End file.
